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IN TRANSIT; Montreal on Ice In Miniature

By ELAINE GLUSAC

Published: January 1, 2012

Visions of sugarplums and flights of fancy with Frosty won't end with the New Year's hangover if Montreal can help it. The city is home to a new Snow Village (snowvillagecanada.com), a mini-city of snow and ice that includes models of some local landmarks like the Olympic Village.

Scheduled to run Jan. 6 to March 31 in Parc Jean-Drapeau, the 1.5-acre village features a 60-seat restaurant with tables made of ice, a convention center with capacity for 200, an Ice Chapel designed for weddings, above, and a 30-room hotel with beds that are simply mattresses placed atop ice pedestals.

Snow Village's development team, which includes Rami Kurtakko, a veteran of snow villages in Finland, plans to recreate the Montreal incarnation annually.

Travelers can visit for a few hours to ogle the architecture, ice skate, explore a snow maze, drink or dine (admission 13 Canadian dollars, about the same in U.S. dollars; $17 weekends). Or overnighters can check into a standard room for $259 a person, or their very own igloo from $175 a person. Warm bedding is provided but thermal attire is recommended. ELAINE GLUSAC

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